Delhi: Journalist shot dead; motive unclear

New Delhi, Oct 1: Sowmya Vishwanathan, a journalist working for Headlines Today was shot dead in Delhi early on Tuesday, Sep 30 morning. She was found dead in her white Zen car with a bullet in her head around 3.40 am, about half-a-kilometre from the Vasant Kunj police station on Nelson Mandela Road.

Police claim the assailant shot her from the driver's side and then her car sharply swerved to the left first and then right, hitting the central verge before being dragged for around 150 metres. As soon as reaching the spot, the police rushed her to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences but doctors declared her brought dead. Doctors who conducted the postmortem say one bullet hit her in the head. One bullet was also reportedly recovered from the tyre of her car. Sowmya had just cut the call after speaking to her father just five minutes before her death, police say. Reportedly, she had just finished her night shift

The motive for the killing has not yet been established and police have registered a case of murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

"We received a call at about 3:55 am regarding a road accident. They responded by removing the injured to the hospital and this lady was subsequently declared as brought dead. During a post-mortem, it was revealed that a bullet was lodged in her skull. We registered a case of murder. At the moment preliminary investigation is in progress, we have called the experts to examine the scene of crime and the car. Further action will be taken as the investigations progress, it is not very clear if the second bullet was fired or not. But this is a very serious case and we are putting our best efforts forward," Joint Commissioner Southern Range, Delhi, Ajay Kashyap said.

''We are yet to question the victim's parents who are in a state of shock. Nothing seems to have been taken away and it doesn't appear to be a case of carjacking. We will be questioning her colleagues, friends and family. It is too premature to say anything," said DCP (southwest) Shalini Singh.

Sowmya had been working for the channel since the past eight months and had an 18-month stint earlier with the same group. She is originally from Kerala. Her father, MK Viswanathan, retired from Voltas while her mother, Madhavi, works with a public sector company. Sowmya studied at Carmel Convent School and has a younger sister.